Pelican Lounge is
airport friendly
PELICAN LOUNGE
Hours: Open 2 p.m. to 12 a.m. Sun. through Thurs.;
2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Fri. and Sat.
Location: 3401 N. Nimitz Highway
(Near the corner of Nimitz and Rodgers Boulevard;
inside the Honolulu Airport Hotel)
836-0661
A FRIEND from the mainland was stuck at the airport recently with a couple of hours to kill before catching his flight. But when he called the Barfly for help finding bars to hit in the area, the only two places that came to mind were the notorious Gussie L'Amours and Club Foxy over on Lagoon Drive.
Knowing there had to be more options near the airport than a dive bar and exotic dancing joint, off the Barfly went earlier this week to find a more suitable establishment worth recommending to visitors from the mainland. After driving around the Nimitz area for a while, we decided to drop in on the Pelican Lounge in the Honolulu Airport Hotel.
Unless you're looking closely, there isn't much to announce the existence of the Pelican Lounge. A small sign under the hotel's sign on Nimitz advertises happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m., which is what the Barfly noticed when driving by. We were only going to drop in for a quick beer and a look around before moving on, but for a hotel bar the Pelican Lounge was surprisingly comfortable. It ended up being our only stop of the night.
The Pelican Lounge shares space with the hotel's restaurant, but there is a distinct bar area with booths and a few tables. Six stools are also open at the bar itself. "Sportscenter" was on the big screen television when we walked in, and we had no problems finding a table and getting served.
We were also pleasantly surprised with the beer selection. Domestic bottles are available for $3.25, but the Barfly's preference for draft beer meant we would be drinking $3.50 pints of the Kona Brewing Co.'s Fire Rock Pale Ale. Why drink a commercial beer when microbrews are available for about the same price?
You'll also get your money's worth if you decide to grab a bite to eat. Our attentive (and attractive) server was helpful enough to offer the restaurant's dinner menu to us, but there was no need -- the pupu menu is priced reasonably and there are more than enough items to choose from. We tried the chicken quesadilla ($5.95) and a basket of fries ($4.95), and weren't disappointed.
So the next time you're stuck at the airport for a few hours or if you need a stiff drink or two before getting on a plane, don't waste your money at the overpriced concourse bars. Well within walking distance of the airport (or close enough to catch a taxi to for lazy people like the Barfly), the Pelican Lounge in the Honolulu Airport Hotel is a great choice for reasonably-priced beer and pupus.
How much for a Bud Light?
$3.25 gets you a bottle of Bud at the Pelican Lounge, but your best bet is to go for a $3.50 pint of the Kona Brewing Co. beers that are on tap. Pitchers are also available for $11.50.
Get things to do?
Three Megatouch game machines compliment the two televisions on either side of the bar. Karaoke is offered on the weekends, and the band Just Us performs on Friday and Saturday nights as well.
What about the grinds?
The Pelican Lounge shares space with the Honolulu Airport Hotel's restaurant, so there's a good selection of pupus. Ahi poke ($8.95), beef tacos ($4.95) and steamed clams ($9.50) are all on the menu. And they're not stingy -- when you order the New York Steak ($11.95) or even a turkey sandwich ($6.95), the food comes with french fries! Other bars would charge you the same amount for just the steak or sandwich and make you buy the fries separately, so you're getting a pretty good deal here.
And the help?
It was a pretty slow night when the Barfly stopped by, so we had no problems getting our beer. Our server, Evette, made sure our glasses stayed full and put up with all our questions about the menu with a smile on her face. She also came back to check on us regularly, even when business started to pick up later in the evening. The girls at some of the more popular places in town could use a pointer or two from Evette.
Barfly appears every Friday in Star-Bulletin Weekend.
E-mail Jason Genegabus at jason@starbulletin.com with suggestions of neighborhood bars to visit.
